Mable: Hello! Sorry this chapter was so late. In case you didn't hear, I caught Covid and have been having a hard run of it. X( But I'm alright, and here's the new chapter! Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Thirty-Three
The arcade was a lot longer than expected. Charlie and Jessica both realized this when they were making the run towards the back and still had to turn a couple of corners to get there. There were too many arcade cabinets to count but plenty lined up and ready to hide behind, which was especially useful considering that there were two more overly curious Security Bots circling this back section of the arcade.
The arcade itself was a blur of shadows and neon. Flickering screens requesting tokens on arcade machines plastered with images of the Glamrocks styled like fighters, or in fantasy gear or fighter planes, or even the depictions of other Fazbear characters who had nearly been lost to time. Balloon Boy being one of them, with his goofy smile printed on the side of a set of pinball tables.
Finally, they made it to the end of the line, where the room narrowed in and ended abruptly at a small security door. They waited for the Security Bot to do a circle and pass by before running over, but much to their surprise, the door didn't automatically open. They tried lifting it together too, but to no avail. It would not lift; it would not budge. Jessica kept fussing with it as Charlie got her radio back out.
"Jake, problem. The door to the Prize Counter won't open. This has to be it, it's the only one in here," Charlie said.
"That's not good. It didn't use to be…" Jake answered. Mike didn't respond, so he was likely still on the move. "Okay, there's another door in there, but you're going to have to go back the way you came."
"If it's the red and blue one, I tried it already. No good," Charlie said. Jessica tapped her and gestured back, pointing out that the Security Bot was returning, and the two hurried to the wall and got back behind the arcade cabinets.
That's where Charlie spotted something that piqued her interest. There was a covered vent opening hidden behind the cabinets that looked big enough for them to fit into. She made her way to it, staying close to the wall to avoid the Security Bot's spotlight that was peeking in between the arcade cabinets. Even though it was likely an air vent, there was little to no air motion through the slates in the vent.
"Hey, I found a vent by the door that looks big enough to fit through. What's the chances of it leading to the Prize Counter?" Charlie whispered into the radio.
"If it's facing that direction, then I'd say it's worth a shot!... Wait, is it open?"
"No. We'll have to get it open ourselves," she said. She tested the vent cover, and it rattled a little, but it was too steadfast to physically pry off. Apparently, Jessica had an idea as she dug into her bag and soon after produced two items.
"Quarter or pocketknife?" she offered. Charlie looked between the options.
"Quarter. The knife might break."
Jessica nodded and dropped it back into her bag before getting started with the quarter. She was just able to fit it into one of the thick screws and after some working was able to loosen it enough to unscrew it. She then moved to the next one.
As luck would have it, that was when they began to hear the thumping of Chica's approaching footsteps.
"She's coming," Charlie warned.
Jessica tightened her lips and buckled down, unscrewing the second faster than the first and hopping to the third. She was in the process of starting it when they heard a voice echoing from further back in the arcade.
"Where oh where has my long-legged bot gone?" Chica asked with fake worry. It quickly melted into a more sinister tone. "Poor thing. I'll find her real soon…"
The worst part was that both girls knew that if this vent cover didn't come off quickly, she was going to end up finding them. Jessica twisted the coin rapidly and got the third out, finally making it to the fourth as the footsteps edged in closer. She had to be passing the seating area they had, one with a glowing floor and a few simple tables, which meant she was at the last corner. Charlie resisted the urge to beckon Jessica to hurry.
The fourth screw came free and both of them pulled the cover free with a slight clatter.
"There you are!" Chica cried. She began to race towards the noise.
Jessica threw the cover aside and pushed Charlie in first. She didn't waste a moment and crawled in quickly, giving her friend plenty of time to climb in after her and begin to crawl through the cool metal shaft.
Until a hand grabbed her around the ankle and yanked back with a force she hadn't expected. Jessica shrieked as she was pulled out in one firm motion, her fingernails uselessly catching on the ridges in the vent. She was pulled free and dumped onto the floor at the chicken's feet, looking up to see her round, white face hanging over her.
"Oh! There really IS a human in here!" Chica said with surprise. Her tone shifted to one with only a sinister cover as she sat her hands on her hips and leaned in close. Cheese dripped out of her beak and on Jessica who grimaced in disgust. "I'm sorry, but the Pizzaplex is closed," she said through the ooze. Her voice lowering and gargling. "But don't worry! We've got a place for you…"
A sudden burst of music echoed out of the vent and Chica spun her head in time to see Charlie coming at her with her taser out and primed to deliver a controlled shock. She was ready for a fight, and she wasn't about to back down.
She didn't expect Chica to react the way she did.
The animatronic let out a startled cry and staggered back, bumping into the arcade cabinets and almost falling back against them, her legs bent and feet turned in to catch her. She stared wide eyed- not at the taser, but at Charlie herself. She was afraid of her. Unfortunately, this wasn't the time for an amicable chat about what had her so frightened.
She grabbed Jessica and pulled her into the vent with a strength that, again, the blond wasn't anticipating. Not that Jessica missed a beat, she began crawling after Charlie instantly and got far enough into the vent that when Chica snapped out of it and threw herself forward to grab her again, she ended up just missing.
Chica gave a frustrated cry and thumped her fists on the bottom of the vent. She wanted to follow them, she wanted to crawl in and catch right up to them, but the "stupid, stupid" rule that said animatronic performers couldn't go crawling into off-limit and dangerous spaces, such as vents, she couldn't. Even if she decided to break the rule, she physically couldn't go through with it.
Well, if she couldn't go in then they weren't coming out. She stomped around the arcade cabinets before giving them a hard ram, causing one to tip back and fall against the wall, blocking the way. Then shoving another for good measure.
Charlie and Jessica were already a ways into the vent went they heard the thumping. They both looked back, but by then they had turned the corner and could no longer see. It didn't sound like Chica was following at least, so they continued.
Jessica wiped some of the cheese off of her face. "Ugh, that was so gross."
"You should've seen it going in," Charlie remarked. She lifted the radio as she led the way. "We're in the vent. We've lost Chica for now."
"Good. Keep going, you might just lose her for good."
Charlie didn't want to be pessimistic, but she highly doubted it. "That's the plan," she simply said.
She turned down and lowered the radio as they continued forward, but it wasn't long before they were interrupted again. This time it was by faint music coming from somewhere further in the vent. It sounded like music from a music box.
"Mari?" Charlie whispered. She hesitantly continued, listening for the music, and soon figuring out that it wasn't him. This sounded too much like an actual music box in contrast to his chiming voice.
It was getting closer too. She noticed there was a shaft leading upwards up ahead and it sounded like that was where the noise was coming from. Unfortunately, they would have to go directly underneath. Charlie cautiously crawled forward and shined her flashlight up the shaft. Right away she saw the source of the music.
It was the last thing she expected to see. A familiar visage in an unfamiliar size.
A tiny Music Man.
Though it wasn't quite the same Music Man she remembered. This one was exceptionally tiny, small enough to fit easily in the vent and still have space to spare. It had a dirty metal body with spots of wear and rust. Considering how new the Pizzaplex was, this had to have been an old piece of Fazbear Entertainment memorabilia that was brought to it, not a newly built animatronics. It had a little pair of cymbals and stuck to the wall with suction cup feet.
"They bought out Music Man," Charlie mumbled.
"What?" Jessica asked.
"Uh, nothing. Just looking at this little… guy."
Jessica tried to squeeze beside her and looked up to see it. "Huh, that is a little guy… Do you think he's going to be trouble?"
"I don't know."
The little Music Man must've understood that they were talking about it as it suddenly pulled one of its feet free and re-suctioned it closer. It continued the process as it sluggishly inched down towards them while chattering its teeth, of which it was missing a few.
Charlie jingled back up towards it and, much to her surprise, it stopped in its tracks. It made a stiff motion like clattering its cymbals without them fully touching and stared down at her. It didn't come any closer after that.
As interesting as this all was, Jessica knew they had to keep moving. "We've got to go," she said. Charlie nodded and crawled the rest of the way under the shaft, watching the mini Music Man until she couldn't anymore. It did not follow.
The vent eventually ended in another cover. Peeking through, Charlie could see some sort of office room inside, but the cover couldn't be unscrewed from this side. She turned over and tried to kick the cover out with her legs. After a few second without progress, Jessica squeezed in beside her in preparation to do the same.
"On three," Charlie said. "One… Two…"
A kick from both managed to force one of the corners out. Jessica focused her foot there while Charlie struck at the middle, and slowly the kicks forced the cover out until it collapsed to the floor. Charlie dropped down first, picking up and resting the cover on the wall, and began to look around as Jessica followed inside.
It was some sort of office. Shelves, desks, and file cabinets, even a couple of arcade cabinets were scattered around, but the weirdest thing was what looked to be a second smaller office inside of the office. Almost like a walled-in security office that was surrounded by more office space. It was strange, but there wasn't time to dwell on it, nor even really remark on it.
There were voices coming through the wall, one of which sounded a lot like Chica's. There was also a doorway with an exit sign over it in that same direction, which meant in all likelihood said speakers could just come waltzing in.
There was a door to their left though and Charlie ran for it with Jessica shortly behind and tried the handle. It was a red and blue door like the one in the arcade, and it too was locked. She stepped out of the doorway and looked around, and spotted a second door further down, and ran over to try that one too, to the same result. She could only assume from the location that the door beside the voices was the one in the arcade she tried earlier.
Charlie ran back to Jessica. "No good! Both locked!"
Jessica hesitated only a second before whispering, "Back to the vent!"
The two started to run over when suddenly there came a horrifically loud bang as the door into the arcade was rammed open. Taking a sharp turn, the two ran into the small inner office, with Charlie shutting the security door behind them. She then hastily crept to the other side of the room to get the other one, listening as the voices outside became much clearer.
"Still on the hinges? Disappointing," a female, obviously also robotic voice remarked.
"Pipe down," a deeper growl of a voice snapped.
Charlie pressed the button on the door right as he spoke, barely covering up the sound of it closing, and hid in the corner where she would be out of sight of the small window beside the door. Jessica joined her and they listened to the heavy footsteps turning the corner and walking past the door. The animatronic hesitated when he noticed the door not opening and knocked on it, to no response.
"Huh?" He stepped to the window and looked through, but he couldn't see anyone in the office. He couldn't even see any indication that anyone had been in there, what with the office chair pulled up to the desk. The only thing suspicious was that the doors were shut but being that it was a security office, that could've been done on purpose. He snorted and pulled back before continuing on, and Charlie leaned out enough to see his retreating back and confirmed it was Monty.
Charlie knew then that they were in a jam, but the direness of the situation didn't truly take hold until she heard the next exchange.
"Stay out there and watch the door," the female voice barked. Then there was another set of heavy footsteps walking around, though this time in the other direction and towards the other door.
That was when the weight began to crush down. With few options, Charlie could only bring the radio to her mouth and ask as quietly as she could, "Mike? Jake?"
Mike and Marionette were more than ready to get off the elevator when it slowed to a stop, but neither were expecting what was coming when those doors finally slid open.
It suddenly made sense why the gift shop was so small, because the Prize Counter was utterly massive. A lit by large swaths of pinks neon and floored with starry print carpet, the room was a treasure trove of prizes. Directly in front of them alone were two large mounds of plushies varying in size from moderately small to larger than a small child. One mound dedicated to Roxanne and one to Monty, but there were two more mounds for Freddy and Chica on the other side.
There were more than one prize counter two. They sat along the walls of the semi-circular room and were littered with more plushies and trinkets. Shirts with faces of the characters and emblems hung on the wall, action figures were lined on the shelves, pinatas, guitar toys, keychains and other little trinkets hung on displays or on the wall amongst the other items, and posters hung up above displays holding rolled-up duplicates.
The sheer amount of prizes was the more jaw-dropping part. Both the Sun and Moon had separate sections dedicated to them and each had their own line of merchandise, from action figures to shirts, to posters to plushies. There was a smaller section devoted to other characters too. That counter had some El Chip merch, including sombreros and shirts, and a couple of posters, one depicting what looked like Music Man with headphones and the other a bee character with a ball bun.
Marionette was left reeling. He slipped out of the elevator and did a slow spin to take all of it in, but it was going to take more than one spin to do that. It was the biggest Prize Counter he had ever seen, and all the prizes left him in awe.
A strange feeling settled in his chest as he took it all in. It wasn't so much jealousy but a somber sort of remorse. The awe of this glorious place letting way to the disappointment of it all, of how beautiful it all looked, of how empty it felt. He both envied it and shunned it, longing for the comfort and warmth of his own Prize Corner and knowing it couldn't compared to something like this.
There was no puppet either. Marionette was relieved at such, but that too held its own sorrow. They didn't even replace him, they just left it empty. They had completely written him out of the script. How tragic.
…And dear heavens, they had a Staff Bot on display. Was that a prize? He didn't even envy that, he just thought that was a bad idea in general. It probably would cost a fortune in tickets. Perhaps he could convince Natalie to save up to get it.
Mike let Marionette wander a little as he turned the radio back on and spoke in a low tone. "We've made it to the Prize Counter. Which way now?"
"Back and to the left. Like, turn around, all the way around."
"As opposed to partially around."
"And it's to the back left. On the left wall past the elevator. You're going to have to see if it'll open because it wouldn't on Charlie's side. She crawled into a vent, so keep an eye out for any of those."
While normally hearing that Charlie and Jessica crawled into a random vent might've been concerning, in this place it gave a slight assurance. At least they were hidden from plain sight and probably out of reach of anything.
He looked to see if Marionette was paying attention, but he was standing by one of the plush piles looking distracted. He watched him pick up one of the large Freddy plushies and begin to coddle it in his arms. He was stressed, Mike could tell.
"We will," he finished. He hooked the radio back to his belt, this time keeping it on since they were finally in the clear and walked towards the puppet. "Hey. He said it's this way."
"Coming!" Marionette said. He set down the Freddy doll again, readjusting it quickly so it would stay upright, and then floated over to his companion.
Mike turned and started walking briskly alongside him. "What's on your mind?" he asked.
"Not much. Just thinking," Marionette replied.
"Always thinking," Mike mused with a fond smile- despite the fact that he was borderline jogging past the elevator. "About what?"
"What it would be like if we had a Prize Corner of this size. We might someday if Foxy's gets big enough. If we'll be as big as Freddy's someday. Then there's the existential crisis when I can't tell if it is me or programming nudging at me to straighten the stock so it appears more presentable, reminding me that I am in fact a robot, and reminding myself that in another life I might've been tending this prize counter," Marionette listed out. By time they reached the security door, Mike had slowed down and was giving him a funny look. "…You know, anything other than the elevator."
"Right, I'm still trying to black that out," he said and nodded. "But just to let you know, you do that straightening thing off the clock too. Mostly when you're nervous."
"Oh. Then I suppose there's nothing to worry about," Marionette said. He sounded a little amused.
Less than a few seconds later there was a loud bang from somewhere through the wall, loud enough that both of them looked over. Not that they could see what caused it or hear anything explaining it afterwards.
"I suppose there's that," the puppet added, now sounding much more worried. "We should hurry."
"Way ahead of you," Mike muttered as his ditched the speedy walk and broke into run the last few feet to the security door.
Alas, it did not open when he arrived at it. With no obvious door controls, all of the others being automatic, and the previous warning that the door on Charlie's side didn't open, they already had a hunch that they weren't going to have much luck with this one.
Mike reached under the stuffy hood to run his fingers through his hair. "Okay. Time to look for that vent."
Marionette looked back towards the prize counters. "Do you think that noise we heard-?"
"Mike? Jake?" Charlie whispered through the receiver. Both snapped to alert, dropping any conversation, and paying full attention to the radio.
"Still here."
"We're here too. Where are you?" Mike added.
"We're in an office between the arcade and the prize counter and there's animatronics trying to get in," she said. It was clear that she was struggling to stay calm in the situation. "We've got the doors closed, but it looks like there's power meters on them. I don't think they're going to stay closed."
Mike pulled his thumb off the button long enough to swear and barely reached out to catch Marionette's arm before he darted off. "We're on our way. Do you have any idea where you are? There was a bang, are you anywhere near that?"
"That was Monty breaking in a door. That's right beside us."
"I know where they are," Marionette said. His eyes alit and his chest humming with incoming static.
"I have to turn the radio off."
"Do it. We're coming," Mike assured. He shoved the radio back on his belt as he began to run in the direction of the bang with Marionette right in front of him.
The Puppet stopped at the first counter they reached and leaned over it to look into the back. It looked like there was storage space behind it. As he was looking, Mike noticed a noise and looked back, and swore again as he realized that what he was hearing was the elevator starting to lower back into the lobby. A short-lived panic when Marionette suddenly swung himself over the counter.
"Back here," he said, and then made a beeline straight for the back.
By time Mike had gotten over the counter and caught up with him, he had found a door and was listening against it. It looked like there was another doorway further down, but from how he was listening it was clear he found his target.
"I hear them," Marionette said. With how they were stomping around, Mike thought someone would be half deaf not to.
"We got a problem," he warned through clenched teeth. The Puppet slightly turned his head. "Natalie's coming up the elevator." The Puppet gave an exasperated little huff of static. "But we might be able to use that to our advantage. If she can get them out here." Marionette hummed, thinking about what Mike was suggesting. "She gets them out, I'll get in and get them out, and we slip out one way or another."
Marionette didn't say anything but seemed intrigued by the plan. He nodded in agreement.
Mike meanwhile stepped back and behind a shelf to look through the open doorway, past the counter, and watched as Natalie stepped out of the elevator. His mouth twitched in a smirk when he saw she was covering her mouth.
She wasn't alone either. Stuffed in the elevator behind her was Freddy who followed closely behind and was looking around with rapidly darting eyes. This could work to their advantage, but it all depended on what happened next. He took Marionette by the arm and gently coaxed him back amongst the shelves, with only slight resistance and hesitation, and shortly afterwards Natalie stepped into view down the hall and up to the other door.
Meanwhile, Charlie and Jessica were now huddled in the opposite corner by the other door as Monty and Roxanne loomed outside. She realized Roxanne was the other animatronic wandering around when she spotted her looking through the window. The wolf looked around the office, also unable to see until the blind spot, and pulled back with a shake of her head.
The two had been bickering out there since Charlie ended the radio call with Mike, and Roxanne's inability to see anyone, and not being convinced that there was someone in there, seemed to rile up Monty. Enough at least that he thumped loudly on the door, perhaps hoping to somehow trigger it to open. It did not, though Charlie did notice that the power had visibly lowered from that banging alone.
But all of that came to an abrupt halt when there came the sound of someone trying one of doors. Both animatronics' heads snapped in that direction.
"Who's there?!" Monty barked.
"It's me!" Natalie called back. His shoulders lowered and she gave a huff. "But it looks like I'm not coming in, because the door's locked, and instead of giving me a ring of keys, they gave me a keycard that barely does anything."
Monty grumbled and headed around the back of the office with Roxanne in tow, and Charlie and Jessica quickly moved to the opposite side once again.
Natalie had turned back to ask Freddy about the door when Monty's voice suddenly rumbled from the other side of it.
"Outta the way."
Apparently reading the tone, Freddy grabbed Natalie around the waist and pulled her aside. She gaped but before she could even ask, the door slammed open with a resounding bang, the only evidence of what just happened being Monty's foot sticking out through the doorway. The gator then came sauntering through and lowered his glasses to acknowledge the blond.
"Ma'am."
Both she and Mike made mental notes to try and avoid getting anywhere near Monty's legs.
"Works better than a key, I guess," she murmured. She pushed out of Freddy's arms and cleared her throat. "Okay, so what's going on?"
"Chica said she saw an unregistered animatronic walking around up here," Roxanne explained as she stepped into and leaned against the doorway. Her hands rested on her hips and her tail swayed behind her.
"What?" Natalie asked in what might've been genuine surprise. "…Where is she? I need to hear this from her."
"Back in the arcade, watching the door," Roxanne said. She turned around and headed back inside, leading the way for Natalie, Freddy, and Monty to follow her back in.
Before they got to that other door though, Month stopped Natalie with a tap on the shoulder.
"'Ey," he said. He rested that hand on that shoulder, leaning over the other one- his grinning maw awfully close to her face- and pointed a thumb at the office door. "We need in the office."
"What, a security office?... Oh, wow. Okay, just noticed the layout of this room. That's really weird," Natalie remarked. She casually pulled away from him to look in the window. "Is there someone in there?"
"Gotta hunch there is."
"I don't see anyone."
"That don't explain why these doors are shut. It could be hiding in there, up in the ceiling or something'." Roxanne gave a doubtful scoff. "It could happen!" Monty defended. "You saw that vent was open!"
"There's a vent open? Which one?"
Roxanne looked utterly fed up with them both. "Just open the door so we can shut him up," she said.
"Alright, alright. Let me just check on Chica and then I'll figure out how to get it open," Natalie agreed. She trudged towards the other door with Freddy and headed through, leaving Monty and Roxanne looming outside the office door.
This whole conversation was overheard by Marionette, who quietly recounted it to Mike. He had his head tilted against the door with one hand on the handle while the other's fingers were wrapped around the lock, unlocking it while he listened, waiting for his cue to make a move.
"Go on the other side an' look in the window. This whole side over here's a blind spot."
"Maybe if you took your sunglasses off for once…"
"Ain't no need to get desperate yet."
That was the cue. While Marionette didn't know this would totally expose her and Jessica's hiding spot, something about the mention of windows and the idea of an animatronic on each side of a power restricted office pushed him over.
"We're going with your plan. Wait here," he said.
Mike got as far as, "My plan-?" before Marionette was at the other door. Without any further warning, the Puppet suddenly blared a very familiar noise from his chest; the alarm the Security Bot made when it had found them. It was practically an exact replication save for a major increase in volume. Someone would have to be nearly deaf to not hear it, even through the wall.
The results were instantaneous. Heavy footsteps rapidly approached the opposite door and Mike barely backed behind the shelves in time before Roxanne burst through the door, which had close automatically, and looked around wildly. By then Marionette had disappeared and must've reappeared somewhere back in the Prize Counter, as the alarm noise moved somewhere into the back.
Roxanne was lured off into the Prize Counter with Monty coming out behind her with a slow, hunched-over gait. Mike waited until he couldn't see him before stepping forward and slipping through the door. He slowly closed it behind him, trying to keep it from slamming shut behind him and managing to ease it into only an audible click.
Yet Monty still heard it. It was quiet enough that he couldn't distinguish what it was, but he recognized that something distinctly clicked and turned to make his way in that direction. He looked down the wall at locked onto that second door, then began to silently stalk over. Hunting down the prey he hadn't even confirmed yet was there.
The shelves beside him creaked. He snapped his head to the right to look at them, scanning them up and down, but they just sat there. Nothing behind them, nothing that visibly touched them, there was nothing there. He turned back away.
And in one sudden, sweeping motion every box, every plush toy, every pinata, everything suddenly started flying off the shelves in front of him. Flinging against the walls before falling uselessly towards the floor, more items crashing down as the shelves were left bare. He backed out of the range of fire, but the moment the line of destruction hit the end of the shelves, where he stood, he was hit by something.
It was a harsh enough shove to stagger him slightly, catching him off guard. He swiped back but there was nothing there. Whatever hit him had been just as invisible as whatever just shoved all that stuff off the shelves.
Roxanne ran back through the counters in time to see the stagger and the mess laying out before him. "What happened?!" she asked. From her tone alone, she didn't seem entirely convinced that it hadn't been something he did.
"There's somethin' over there!" Monty answered. A pinata suddenly flew across the hall and smacked him in the head, knocking his sunglasses askew. Between this and the shove, he was suddenly set off, and with a nearly feral bellow he crushed the pinata under his foot and tore into the storage area behind the shelves, shoving them over as he searched for the perpetrator. His yells for it to come out devolving into bellows and yells the more stuff was flung at him.
Roxanne didn't follow, knowing better than to get close to Monty while he was throwing a tantrum of this size. Instead, she ran back out into the Prize Counter to get a better look for herself at what was happening.
It was hard to comprehend exactly what she was looking at. It looked like merchandise was literally flying off the shelves and hurling itself at Monty. Though he wasn't helping things, assisting the process by tearing down stock before it could up and throw itself at him.
Suddenly she felt a strange sensation and snapped her head back. It was as though there had been something right beside her, but there was nothing there. As she turned around the sensation still lingered, and a quick check showed that there was an unrecognized security frequency close by. She kept catching a glimpse of darkness out of the corner of her eye as she turned but she couldn't catch up with it, no matter how quickly she threw her head around to look.
"I know you're there, so give it a rest. You're just embarrassing yourself," Roxanne spat. Her irritation gave away her discomfort, but the snarl on her voice showed little weakness. She turned around with a frustrated growl. "Where ARE you?!"
She was answered by long fingers suddenly sliding up the back of her head and through her hair until they rested atop her scalp. Something was above her, and it rested its head between its hands and whispered faintly into her ear:
"You have such lovely hair."
Roxanne snapped out of her trance and ripped herself free with a startled yell, and it the same motion swiped back but made no contact. There was nothing there, but much to her horror when she checked for the security signal, she found that it was still there, circling around her, toying with her as it did to Monty. It wasn't until Natalie came running in that the sensation suddenly dissipated, but she continued snapping her head around and spinning until she was staggering.
Natalie came in to find Monty tearing up part of the Prize Corner and Roxanne acting disoriented, but that was all that she saw.
Meanwhile, Mike had gotten into the office before the chaos has started and made it to the door for the smaller office. He looked through the window and could see Charlie and Jessica staring back at him from the corner on the other side. He hastily beckoned him, and they quickly crossed the office and opened the door.
"Mari's got it covered. Let's go," Mike quickly whispered. That was the only way to describe whatever the craziness that started ensuing in the other room was. He knew Marionette knew what he was doing, but it sounded concerning loud.
Charlie immediately pointed him towards the vent and he nodded, deciding to go ahead and trust that it was the safest way out. They hurried over and he cupped his hands to give her a boost, which she gladly accepted. Then he boosted Jessica. Then he started trying to climb up himself before realizing quickly that it was probably in his favor to grab a stool.
He just grabbed one from beside the office when the door from the arcade opened and Natalie came running through. Around the opposite way, thankfully, before quickly running out the same door Monty and Roxanne had gone. Mike released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He knew Natalie wasn't necessarily a threat- not compared to the actual animatronics- be he didn't want to be the one to blow their cover. Especially after he almost already did.
He put down the stool and was up on it and into the vent in a matter of seconds, speedily crawling and catching up to Jessica in only a few short moment. As soon as he did, he noticed a chiming coming from nearby.
"What's that music?" he asked. Music box music, but not Marionette's. The notes were on a loop unlike the deliberate chimes and tinkles of Marionette's internal mechanism. This sounded like an actual music box.
"There's a little Music Man. He's up in the vents up ahead," Charlie whispered, about to reach said open vent.
But as she said that, Mike swore he heard the music coming from his right. Or really it was coming from everywhere, but one of the strongest points was directly to his right, behind a thinly grated, slow-circulating fan. He shined his flashlight in at the edge to see if he could see past it. He didn't, but he heard pattering from somewhere on the other side.
"Sure he's not back here?" Mike asked. "Because something just ran by."
Charlie turned her head in surprise before giving a concerned him but didn't yet reply. Instead choosing to crawl ahead, under the open vent, and shine her light up the shaft to see for herself.
The little Music Man was still there, much to her surprise. It had moved down a little closer but otherwise was in a nearly identical position, staring down at her.
"He's still up here. Which probably means there's… more than one… But maybe that's not a problem. This little guy didn't give us any trouble," Charlie said. That confidence wasn't carried over by how quickly she crawled on ahead. Likely just hoping that if she didn't acknowledge it, it would just not become a problem. Jessica read the room well enough to hastily follow after.
Mike couldn't resist the temptation of shining his light up and getting a look at the little animatronic.
"That's a creepy little thing," Mike thought. He wasn't nearly stupid enough to say it out loud and have it hear him, so instead he made a non-descriptive 'huh' and continued crawling. "Nobody tell Jeremy."
It wasn't until Charlie got around the corner that she was able to see what Chica left in her wake. "Now this might be a problem…" she mumbled.
"What?" Jessica asked. Charlie answered by crawling up enough that Jessica could get around the corner and then flattening herself at the bottom so she could see past. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
"Let me guess, she blocked off the vent," Mike guessed unamused.
"She did. Doesn't look like she did a great job though. I might be able to squeeze through," Charlie offered. Chica had knocked the arcade cabinets over to block the vents, but they had fallen against the wall at an angle. So, there was still an opening that, it hadn't been totally blocked off. It was just a much smaller gap. If she could get her head and chest through, she would be home free. "Let me give it a shot."
Charlie crawled up and briefly tested the arcade machine with her hands. Between the weight and the angle there was no way she was going to shove it back, so she started to work on climbing downward and through.
She had only her shoulders down into it when a soft thump echoed through the vent.
"Did you hear that?" Jessica asked, snapping her head back.
Mike sighed and rolled himself onto his back. "Yeah, and I know exactly what it was," he answered.
There was a pattering coming up the shaft before a familiar face showed itself around the corner. It was the little Music Man, swerving its way down the vent with its legs moving in tandem like a proper spider's.
"What's up, little guy?" Mike asked, giving it the benefit of a doubt.
It stopped in front of him and slowly lifted its head. Its teeth clacked together twice as its large black eyes stared at him and its arms twitched in place. Mike didn't even react, he just braced for impact.
The Lil Music Man ran at him with its arms spread wide, prepared to slam its cymbals onto him. Of course, it was only about a foot tall, so once it got close enough he shoved it back with his foot. Detoured but undeterred, it circled his foot and started clamoring back up between his legs. Mike impassively pushed it back with his hand.
"That's close enough," he said. It continued pushing back against him, trying to clatter its cymbals but having them catch on his wrist. Somehow it got it head turned enough that it managed to clamp down its teeth and pinch Mike's finger. "Oww! Okay, that's enough." Now a little more irritated, Mike gave a much harder shove that toppled the Music Man over and sent him skidding back.
It righted itself quickly, and as it lifted itself back upright a second face popped around the corner. There was a second Lil Music Man which ran after the first towards Mike, who was then followed up by a third, and a fourth.
Mike's eyes widened but he said nothing. Yet again, he braced for impact, and when the first one reached him, he was ready.
It started with one firm kick, then a shove, then swinging his arm back to pin one and kicking forward again. Mike silently fought a one versus four battle with a gaggle of walking music boxes. One slammed its cymbals on his hand, which actually managed to hurt, and he swung harm enough in the small space to launch it back down the vent, taking out another in the process. Both got up and were soon on their way once again.
Jessica was just staring aghast up until this point. Then she decided she needed to do something.
"Charlie, we need your taser!"
Charlie tried to twist her arm to grab her taser and instead slipped down and met a faceful of floor.
"I've got one, I just can't use it," Mike grunted back. He didn't even pause in his constant kicking and shoving. "Just keep moving. I've got this under control."
"I can see that," Jessica said in disbelief. She looked forward again to see Charlie finally succeeding and squeezing out of the space and, after biting her lip and looking back at Mike again, went to follow her out. "Okay, I'm going!"
It was a harder squeeze for someone with lungs and softer skin, but Jessica was a slender woman and managed to maneuver out with help from Charlie. Charlie then called back in, "We're out! Come on!"
Mike started to crawl backwards, solely relying on kicking to keep the Lil Music Men back while pushing himself back in the progress. Until he bumped his head on the arcade machine and rolled over to crawl out. It was a struggle. It reminded him of spelunking, but if he thought his history of that would help, he was dead wrong. Especially when the little Music Men were smacking his feet and nipping at his pants legs; harmless, but annoying.
Eventually he got halfway out, and Charlie hooked her arms under his and helped pull him. Jessica helped by shoving back in a Music Man that tried climbing out onto him. Soon he was crawling out on his knees and free, and by some act of mercy the Lil Music Men seemed unable to come out after them. Or perhaps lost their nerve once Mike was out of reach, still swearing under his breath as he followed Charlie and Jessica back through the arcade.
Soon they made it back to the larger room with the door that led back into the security room. Freddy and Chica were standing outside the door, his hands her shoulders as they watched the door. They had to hear what was going on, but they didn't try to go inside.
The three stayed close to the bathrooms and skirted around a patrolling Staff Bot before hugging the back wall the rest of the way to El Chip's. The security door opened and they slipped through.
Chica's head snapped over at the sound. "Did you hear that?" she asked suspiciously.
"I did. It must be a Staff Bot," Freddy suggested.
"Or them," she said. Her eye twitched and she started trying to walk over when Freddy pulled her back. A disgruntled noise gurgled through her chest. "Let me just go check…"
"It cannot be them. If they had gotten away from Monty and Roxy, they would have surely come out and told us. We need to stay here and guard the door like Vanessa said." Chica gave another disgruntled noise and Freddy rubbed gently over her shoulders. "I am sure that it will all work out in the end," he quietly assured her.
Chica broke her fixated stare with a few blinks and stepped back in front of the door, crossing her arms like she was pouting. He continued giving silent assurances, hiding his guilt and worry well.
Meanwhile, El Chip's was empty so the three were able to rush through. Charlie hesitated briefly to look back towards the still dangling phone. She knew Baby was likely still on the line, but she couldn't risk stopping. She would just have to call her back, and she ducked under the door with Mike and Jessica. For some reason the Atrium was lit up, with the overhead lights on, but assuming this was a security protocol they continued to run.
"Where now?" Jessica asked.
"Didn't think that far ahead. The best bet is the bounce house. At least there we'll be able to outrun these suckers a lot faster," Mike said.
They made it down the escalator and to the security door, but right as they were about to head in, something slinked out from behind the escalator and grabbed Charlie by the back of the jacket. She gave a startled chime as she was pulled back.
"I'll be taking this~!"
Freddy and Chica waited only a little longer before they heard the approaching footsteps. Natalie came out first with a frown on her face and Roxanne right behind her.
"The verdict's in," she began. She paused for emphasis before giving a nearly exhausted, "Nothing."
"Bw-what?!" Chica exclaimed.
"I do not understand. There was no one in the Prize Counter?" Freddy continued, equally surprised.
"We 'saw' nothing," she clarified. "Jury's still out on whether or not there was something in there."
"Don't even act like you didn't see what was going on. That junk wasn't throwing itself off the shelves," Roxanne half-snapped.
She seemed on edge. Her hair was fluffed up and messy and hadn't been combed back into its proper tamed wild do. Chica noticed right away.
"What happened to you?" she asked worriedly.
"Ugh, some creep snuck up behind me and messed up my hair," Roxanne snarled. She crossed her arms and looked back at her. "You're sure it was a girl and a female animatronics?"
"Yup. For sure."
"Well, this was a guy. I recognized it from the voice. Ugh, and his total lack of personal boundaries. What a loser."
"Oh, yeah! Totally!" Chica agreed. "…But, umm. What did he say…?" she coaxed.
"He was just mocking me. He didn't say anything worth a sniff," Roxanne scoffed. Chica's shoulders slumped with disappointment.
"Oh… Oh! But did you get in the office?" she asked, perking back up.
"We did, and we checked it top to bottom, but we found zilch," Natalie answered.
"They weren't in there either?!" Chica cried in aghast. "That doesn't make any sense! The vent was busted open, they had to of come out!... They must've climbed back in! Yeah, they must be squirreled away up there like a couple of… rats!"
"Well, if they're in there then they'll be in there for a while, because once we lock these doors-… Oh, right," Natalie muttered, looking back to see Monty coming through and suddenly being reminded how the doors were opened. "…I'll keep an eye on the security cameras and do a second set of rounds through here later," she said with a tired sigh. Then she beckoned them and began to walk towards El Chip's. "Let's get out of here."
Monty with silent as he came out of the office, but his internal fans were going off with a dull hum, signaling that he was overheating. Both Freddy and Chica knew better than to ask him anything in this wound-up state and left him alone. He followed a little ways behind them, still huffing out steam every few steps.
The group remained in silence throughout the entire walk to El Chip's and it wasn't until they were steps from the atrium door that Natalie decided to break it.
"Okay, look. I'm probably not supposed to be telling you guys this, but Freddy's used to have this sort of… blinding technology? It was only for the safe rooms, but animatronics weren't able to see them. For them it would just look like a normal wall, and they wouldn't be able to see the door, let alone go through it," she explained.
Freddy's eyes widened a little at this. "How strange. I cannot imagine why they would require such a precaution… Rest assured that we have nothing like that at the Pizzaplex. There is no need for it."
"No, we do," Roxanne said. Freddy turned to her with a startled look. "In the back corner of my raceway there's this one unpainted wall that sticks out like a sore thumb. I've caught human employees walking straight through it."
"And you never went in and checked it out?!" Chica asked in surprise.
"I can't. That's the whole point," Roxanne said. She then paused with realization and looked back to Monty. "It might've looked like the stuff was flying off the shelf, but what if it wasn't?" Monty hummed.
"That's what I was getting at. I'm not sure how those doors worked or if someone could do that to themselves, but it's possible. Stranger stuff's already went down in this place," Natalie said. On that final note, she turned back and continued to the security door, ducking underneath it and into the atrium. After a moment she sighed. "…Is there a reason why these lights are on?"
Freddy wrestled with the security door for a moment before managing to lift it past the spot it had been stuck, holding it up so the rest of his bandmates could slip past. Chica patting his arm as she did. Immediately they could see what she had been talking about. For some reason the overheard lights were all on as though the place was about to open.
But before anyone could say anything, a voice called from nearby- as though it had been awaiting its cue.
"Yoohoo~!"
Natalie looked over to see a hand waving from behind a booth before a familiar sun-faced head popped out. The Daycare Attendant skipped out from his hiding spot and towards the group.
Freddy perked up, Chica's eye twitched, Roxanne groaned, and Monty was still huffing and puffing while he stared off into nothing. Sunny ignored all of them, instead coming to a stop in front of Natalie.
"Oh, Officer Vanessa! You are just the lady I'm looking for!" he said. He clasped his hands together pleadingly. "I know you're busy, but I have a teensy-weensy problem and I really, really, REALLY need your help!"
"Okay?" Natalie found the timing peculiar but went along with it. "What do you need?"
"Oh! It's my friend, my special friend! They've disappeared and- and I can't find them!" Sunny said. His hands popping up to his cheeks in worry. "They left the daycare and I've been looking all over, but unless they're in the light- Oh dear."
"Do you mean the Maid Bot?" Natalie asked, referring to Nanny Bot. He shook his head.
"No, no, no! My friends is thiiiis tall-." He lifted his hand to show the height. "With a biiiig smile-." He made a smiling motion with his fingers over his ever-present one. "And they're wearing a pretty purple jacket."
Chica squawked at the description. Natalie was equally surprised and growing increasingly nervous at the idea of even more witnesses.
"Where did you see them last?" she asked.
"I thought they came up here, but I came up here and couldn't find them anywhere! Oh, I don't like this. Not one bit!" Sunny shook his head and laced his fingers in pleading again. "Help me? Please?!"
"Sure, I'll help you look. That's my job, right?" she agreed. He perked up right away and began to skip back towards the escalator, with Natalie following behind. "You guys can head back to your green rooms if you want."
"Nuh-uh! Not until we find that… thing," Chica said. Her voice taking an uncomfortable tone at the last word. Natalie noticed it, she recognized it from the first time she met her, and it still succeeded in making her uncomfortable.
There seemed to be a weird silence over everyone else. Excluding Monty, who was probably in his head again, both Freddy and Roxanne were uncharacteristically without comment, deciding to follow after the two and after the Sun.
This seemed like the perfect setup for another lengthy ordeal that they were going to come out of feeling exhausted and with no real results. Instead, much to Natalie's surprise especially, the task ended almost as soon as it began.
Because as soon as Sunny skipped around the edge of the escalator, his hands flew to his cheeks with an exaggerated gasp before he threw his arms up.
"OH! OH! FRIEND! OH, DEAR FRIEND, YOU HAD ME WORRIED!" he cried before excitedly skipping down the stretch.
But when Natalie looked after him to see his 'friend', with Chica and the Glamrocks shortly behind her, what she saw was not what she was expecting.
It was a Staff Bot. It was a Staff Bot wearing a purple jacket and its face scribbled with markers to give it a big black smile, yellow glittery tear marks, and two smiling sun stickers stuck where its cheeks would be.
Natalie had a hunch what was going on and that was part of the reason she kept her mouth shut and watched as Sunny took the bot by the hand and led it back to the group.
"I can't believe it! They must've been here the WHOLE time!" he chirped, his points spinning with delight. "Thank you so, so much, Officer Vanessa! You must be a lucky charm!"
"Is this some kind of a joke?" Roxanne rather bluntly asked. She pointed a claw at the Staff Bot. "You did this?" she asked. Everyone was pretty sure he did, but she thought it was worth getting a confession.
"Do you like it?! I found this pretty purple jacket in the theater, and I was going to take it to the Lost & Found, but then I saw my friend and I thought: 'Golly! Wouldn't they look spiffy in a jacket like this?' And they do! It, oh, it doesn't fit too well, but it's so colorful and nice! Then I gave them some stickers and glitter and a friendly smile-!"
"It's hideous," Roxanne flatly said. The Sun gave a soft gasp, a hand raising to his mouth before dropping to his hip.
"M-Miss Roxanne, that's not nice! You'll hurt their feelings."
"It's a Staff Bot, they don't have feelings. Now you better go clean that off before opening or it's taking a one-way trip to the silo."
Sunny made a little 'eep' at that. Up until now a lot of his emotions seemed a little exaggerated, but that was a legitimate amount of concern, and he speedily turned the Staff Bot around and started to wheel it away. He turned his torso around, still pushing the bot behind him- or in front, since his legs were still pointed forward- and waved back. "Thank you, Officer Vanessa!"
She raised a hand and watched him eventually disappear through the security door that led towards the daycare.
"Roxanne-," Freddy started.
"Don't start," she swiftly interrupted. So, he didn't continue past that.
There was a long pause.
"What the hell is goin' on tonight?!" Monty suddenly blurted out. Loud and sudden enough to make Natalie jump and get Roxanne's leg twitching.
"Monty, language!" Freddy scolded.
"There ain't nobody here! Eh, whatever. I'm out." Monty turned his back and stalked to the security door at the base of the escalator. "Ya'll need me, ya know where I'll be," he said as he headed in. The door shut behind him shortly afterwards.
Natalie blew out tiredly through her lips before returning to the topic at hand. She looked to Chica, who wasn't looking quite right. She had that distant stare Monty himself usually had, though it was aimed at the floor. Her hands were in tight fists at her side too, her posture rigid, and at first she didn't look up even when Natalie started to speak.
"Chica, do you think there's any way that-?"
"NO!" Chica snapped. It was so sudden that it took the blond aback, if the wide eyed, glassy stare wasn't enough to do that already. Chica was borderline spasming in place, thrusting her fists down at her side. "No! I know what I saw! I know what I saw! It wasn't that thing, it was a long-legged, black, masked-face-!... Thing!" she said, having a borderline tantrum in front of her.
Freddy stepped up to assure her and Chica quickly turned on him seeking validation through her wide, wild eyes. "You believe me, right, Freddy? I know sometimes I get a little excited, but you know that I couldn't make a mistake like that!"
For Natalie and Roxanne, Freddy's hesitation was entirely expected. Chica just all but threw herself on him, her fingers clawing at his arms, putting him on the spot and demanding he convince her that she didn't look crazy.
His guilt was entirely hidden even as it swelled up like an oversized balloon in his chest.
"Of… Of course I believe you, Chica," Freddy said. He did too, he believed she saw exactly what she said she did. This seemed to convince her.
"Sure, you do. I can always count on you, Honeybear," Chica said with relief. "How about you, Roxy?" She looked over to see the wolf already starting to walk to and back up the escalator. "Roxy? You're going back up there?"
"That's right," Roxanne said coolly. She continued up a few more steps before turning around abruptly. "Alone."
Freddy had his foot on the bottom step while Chica froze only a few steps above him. Upon seeing that dead-serious look, the bear stepped back off the escalator while Chica remained on it, though she no longer continued up. She just watched Roxanne leave with narrowed eyes and her arms back to being tight at her sides, like a scolded child trying to make their silent aggravation known.
"I'm going back to my office now to check the cameras," Natalie spoke up. "You two try to stay out of trouble. I'm not sure what's going on tonight, but I don't want anyone getting hurt."
"We will keep an eye on things. Thank you for your help, Officer Vanessa," Freddy said. She nodded and turned to head back towards the lobby. He watched her go before looking up at the animatronic chicken on the escalator. "Chica?"
It took her a few seconds to turn her wobbly body around on the tight steps. By time she turned around she had her shoulders slumped and her hips were askew. He wondered how much she had eaten tonight, but instead of asking he simply held out his arms to her. She hummed, or gurgled, in consideration before lowering her head and coming down the steps. Looking positively defeated, she willingly stepped into his arms and let him give her a comforting hug.
She dropped her head against his chest. "I'm hungry," she quietly admitted. She always was, so her solemn little confession of such was unusual. It was almost like she was ashamed by it, upset by it.
"How about a hot and fresh Pizzaplex Pizza? A little birdie once told me it was the most 'totally delish'," Freddy offered. Chica hummed again before abruptly pulling back.
"Okay! But you're making it, m'kay?" she said with a wink. Back to her usual self in a heartbeat. Not the grumpy Chica or the Chica with the empty eyes and the twitchy beak who sometimes looked at him like she didn't know who he was; this was their Chica. He agreed and they headed down to the first floor together.
Freddy tried to shake away the nagging guilt that reminded him that all of this was by his doing, from his decisions. He would make it up to her, he would make it up to all of them, he would make sure of it.
Mable: Sorry the ending's rushed, but I thought it was time to kick this thing out of the boat and hope it floats. XD Hope you enjoyed!
Also, little note here, because I know a few people might be wondering about this, but the Glamrocks haven't yet received their upgrades. So Roxanne cannot actually see through walls (yet).